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Article that originally appeared
in Suite101,
THE LUCKY 13: Jaime d’Almeida is the force behind The Timbre Project, which is the force behind the ridiculously catchy pop album Free Souvenirs. And even though there are only 11 questions, it’s still called The Lucky 13. Just because. ADAM: How's life? JAIME: Mikey likes it. That much we know. I have to agree with Mikey, though. ADAM: What's spinning on your CD player these days? JAIME: My girlfriend just got me a 400 disc player, so I'm literally in heaven. I put it on random play, and just sit back, relax, and enjoy. When I take it off random these days I'm definitely into S. Malkmus's first solo attempt. I'm also listening to relatively recent stuff from Joseph Arthur and Frank Black. ADAM: The world ends tomorrow and the Ticketmaster Upstairs has to book the Eternal House Band. Who's recruited? JAIME: Elvis has to be booked, doesn't he? I mean, I saw reruns of some of those late 70s shows with ELVIS in light bulbs behind him, and he put on quite the show. The only question is, which Elvis would I want? It comes down to the same debate they had with the stamp a couple years ago. ADAM: How about the band down in Hell? JAIME: I'm not sure. Would we want a band to punish those who are sent to Hell? Or would we want a good band to make life in Hell a little easier to bear? If it's the latter, then of course we'd have to put Elvis in there again. If it's the former, I think I'd have to book a comedian. Life without music is hell. ADAM: Now, I wasn't familiar with your e-mail address so I looked up the host. What's with these articles on economic models? That doesn't seem to be a very rock-and-roll day job. JAIME: Nice work, Mr. PI. Indeed, I do work to support my music these days. The long-term goal is for music to support itself. We'll see what happens. By the way, did you know that Mick Jagger went to the London School of Economics? Not bad company to be in. ADAM: What was the impetus behind forming The Timbre Project? JAIME: Well, at the time, the band I was in (Five Dollar Milkshake) was in between bassists, and the future was somewhat up in the air. I had a number of songs, though, that I really liked and I didn't want to lose, so I decided to put them on tape for posterity. As it happened, the tape came out really well, and the Timbre Project was born. ADAM: Following that up, are you still working with Five Dollar Milkshake? JAIME: In mind and spirit only. I'm not sure if the band is forever shelved, but for now there are no Sunday afternoon practices and no set lists to put together at the last minute on a paper napkin. I love playing with the guys in FDM though, so I wouldn't be surprised if we put it together again sometime. ADAM: In the liner notes of Free Souvenirs you list some rules that were broken during the recording of the album. Is there any odd sound effect or engineering feat you're proudest of? JAIME: Before the 2nd verse of De La Daises, there is a sound that sounds like a Polish ambulance driving by. In fact, I took a soundbite from Final Jeopardy off the internet (step #1), played it through my computer's speakers onto a cassette tape (step #2), sampled it into Dr. Sample (step #3), and then altered the pitch so it fit with the key of the song (step #4). Four steps of proudness. ADAM: When you're writing, which comes first: the lyrics or the music? JAIME: I usually come up with a melodic line and some words at the same time. By the time the song is finished the tune is usually a little bit different and the words aren't always the same as when I started. For me it's really important to start with something and then just work off of that. If it goes nowhere, then I drop it. If things go in the right direction then I keep at it until I get something good. Writing songs is sort of like what Woody Allen said about relationships and sharks -- they have to keep moving forward or they die. A bad song is a dead shark. ADAM: Are your lyrics as autobiographical as they seem? "Shipwrecked" seems like an especially personal plea. JAIME: Yeah, my lyrics definitely draw heavily from my own life experiences and my own emotions. I mean, I can't imagine writing a song about being a woman in the early 17th century. I'd have no basis for that. That's not to say that the songs are completely autobiographical either. I take poetic license at every opportunity. Shipwrecked is a perfect example - it's definitely from personal experience, but it's also peppered with poetic license. ADAM: What can we expect from you next? JAIME: I'm just about to start pre-production for the second Timbre Project album. Hopefully I can finish recording by the end of the summer and then release it in early fall. Of course, time has an amazing way of slipping by if you don't pay attention, so I'm not making any promises. I just know that I'll always be playing, writing, and enjoying music one way or another. |
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